The colour Blue

 

Blue is a pretty colour. The light and dark of blue is very appealing. It just feels so good gazing up at the daytime blue sky. Travelling down memory lane, my school uniform was a white blouse and a blue pleated skirt. The ocean is a tantalizing deep blue and my ma's favourite colour was blue.There is a genre of music and a mood named after the colour.

 

Some Interesting facts about Blue.

Blue is a relatively new colour and the last colour to be named in the English language. 

The Chinese associate colours with the 5 primary elements, the four seasons and directions. Hence they associate blue with wood, east and spring.

Blue is a sign of Hope in countries with a high Catholic population.

Blue is the fifth colour of the rainbow.

According to L. Elizabeth Crawford, a psychology professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia, the association of blue with sadness arose from the look of the body when it’s in low energy or low in oxygen. Lips turn blue or there is a blue pallor to the complexion.

Blue jeans are most popular.

Just 8% of the world’s population have blue eyes.

According to Greek culture, the colour blue is said to ward off the ‘evil eye’. Therefore some Greeks wear a blue charm necklace or bracelet for protection.

Blue is the least common colour found among foods. Blue in food generally indicates spoilage.

Unlike Red that is used to symbolize danger, Blue symbolizes peace, dependability, calmness, and relaxation.

Light blue shades are said to improve concentration, while dark blue is said to improve the thought process.

Blue is the also the colour of sadness, hence the expression, ‘feeling blue’.

There is a genre of music, called the ‘blues’ that revolves around the loss of money and love.

The colour blue is used to market products associated with hygiene.

Blue is not a common colour in nature.

Blue as a colour for boys began after World War2. Manufacturers wanted to sell more clothes by making separate clothes for boys.

A tradition from the Victorian age, still followed by many brides is wearing something blue on their wedding day since blue also symbolizes, love, fidelity, purity which according to the old English were the three major qualities for a rock - solid marriage.

Shades of blue include Cyan, Azure, Turquoise, Aqua, Midnight blue, Royal blue, Aquamarine, Cornflower blue, Aegean blue.

The History of Blue

Historically, blue is not present in cave paintings from over 20,000 years ago. The Greeks did not have a name for blue but the Egyptians valued the semi-precious stone Lapis Lazuli, so blue became a part of their language and clothing. Though blue was worn by royalty for many centuries, it became a more common colour in 431AD. The Catholic Church depicts the Virgin Mary in a blue garment.

 

Hence blue is colour popular in culture and fashion and is also a colour of paradox.